The Shadow of Turning

When I was in the Boy Scouts, many moons ago, we learned how not to get lost in the woods. We also learned how to find our way out if we DO get lost. Both lessons can save your life.

The first lesson is pretty simple - Be Prepared. That's the Scout motto actually. Anytime you are going to be hiking cross-country - be prepared. Take a map, a compass, water and some snacks. Basically, prepare yourself NOT to get lost. But also prepare yourself in case you DO get lost.

Know your surroundings. Know what direction you are hiking in. Know that there is a road to the east and a lake to the west for example. If you are hiking south and your feet start getting wet, turn left!

There is another way to guide yourself through the woods - the sun. If it's noon and you see your shadow straight in front of you, you're walking north. Pretty simple.

The Son, Jesus Christ, can guide us in our daily walk as well. If we walk through life with an open Bible in our hands, it's hard for our hearts to get lost. God's Word never changes. As the old hymn says, "There is no shadow or turning with thee."

Everything we encounter in life is an opportunity to check our bearings. Watching the news, what we hear at work and at school all offer directions to take in life. Are they right? That depends on what we are using for a compass?

The best compass we have at our disposal is God's Word - The Bible. But are we using it? It doesn't do us much good if it is sitting at home on the shelf while we are lost in the wilderness of sin.

Be prepared by reading the Bible.  Know your surroundings by discerning truth from lies. The best way to know what a lie is is to KNOW the truth. Anything else will just get you lost.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17

Great Is Thy Faithfulness - Chris Rice

Look At Me

Have you ever been out walking by yourself and heard footsteps coming up behind you? That can be a little freaky. Your mind starts messing with you, telling you that you're about to be robbed, or worse. You finally decide to stop and turn around and . . .

No one is there.

Do you believe in guardian angels? The Bible does refer to angel visitations here on earth, therefore they DO exist and they DO make visits into our lives.

Several years ago I was driving to work when a deer ran out in front of my car. I was doing 70 miles per hour. The deer was killed, my car was totaled and I escaped injury free. The deer should have come right through my windshield, yet it went up and over the car. Angelic intervention?

"The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." - Psalm 34:7

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." - Matthew 18:10

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;" - Psalm 91:11"

There ARE angels and God DOES command them to protect us according to His will. So why should we be surprised? Has God been watching over YOUR life?

I heard this song the other day - an oldie but a goodie. It's secular in nature but, if you sing the opening words from Jesus' perspective, it makes perfect sense.

There is someone walking behind you
Turn around, look at me
There is someone watching your footsteps
Turn around, look at me

When we place our faith in Jesus we receive that "extended warranty" those telemarketers are always calling about. Only God's warranty lasts forever. God cares about ALL of His children. If you are not one of them, please consider His free offer today!

It can be quite comforting knowing that God is walking behind us in our lives. Turn around and acknowledge Him and He will make all your paths straight.

Turn Around, Look At Me - The Vogues

Mid-Faith Corrections

Watching an eagle landing is an amazing thing to see. One bird managing all those feathers and wind conditions requires a lot of coordination. Yet an eagle manages it all without a thought.

When we launched a rocket to the moon back in the late 60's the astronauts also had to make several mid-flight corrections to keep themselves on target. The same goes for us in our walk with Jesus.

We can go along fine for a while, thinking everything is okay, but then something happens and we suddenly find ourselves off course. We find we are getting farther and farther off the path that Jesus had us walking on. What do we do? It's time for a change. Time for a mid-flight correction. of our own.

Have you ever found yourself off-track in your faith. Maybe you were sitting in church one day and heard the pastor say something that made you do, "What!?" Have you ever made a mid-faith correction? And how do you know you are right in doing so while everyone else is just sitting there doing nothing?

The answer is simple. Reading The Bible is our constant. It is the "runway" when our spiritual plane is being tossed about by the wind. Prayer too is an essential tool that keeps us going in the direction God wants us to. Seeking the direction of God's Holy Spirit is crucial to our walk with Jesus.

"5Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Read The Word, pray, and follow in obedience. You will soon find out you are walking right by Jesus once again.

Slow Motion Eagle Landing
Cross-Winds Landings During A Storm

Danger!

My wife and I are vacationing in Michigan's upper peninsula, along the Lake Superior shoreline. As a matter of fact we are SO near the shoreline, if we took a few steps outside our bedroom window we would literally be in the lake. You see, we are staying in . . . a lighthouse.

We are really enjoying ourselves. We both love lighthouses and enjoy learning about the lovely lives of the light keepers as they watched over "the light" in order to keep others safe.

There are many dangers up here, both now and in days gone by. My wife and I were walking along a trail yesterday that led to a waterfall. Along the pathway there was a sign that read "dangerous outlook." If only we had those signs in our lives, we would be SO much better off.

For example, don't eat those mushrooms you see along life's trail. They might look tempting but they are poisonous. Don't get too close to the edge of the cliff, it rained last night and the ground could give way. Or, don't walked out on those jagged rocks. You might twist your angle . . . which actually happened to my wife.

Life does not come with many warning signs. Sometimes our friends or family warn us about hanging out with certain people. We might have been warned my our mother's about the dangers of smoking or drinking. These warnings are for our own good, yet we often ignore them because WE want to be in control of our own lives. We really love to be in control.

I think that's why so many people are hesitant to follow Jesus - to fully commit their lives to Him - because it would mean relinquishing control. And so we ignore the danger signs. We think that WE will be the ones to survive because WE are the ones in control.

There are many warning signs in the Bible. I read about them every day. They are warnings from God. Why? Because He loves us and does not want us to perish. Yet we choose to ignore . . . we fall off the cliff.

Placing our faith in Jesus IS a big step. It involves repentance - a changing of our life's direction. It involves listening to God's warning signs. "Flee from sexual immorality." and "You shall have no other gods before me" become words to lives by.

As we go through life we must always be on the lookout for dangerous things. It is SO much easier to avoid them if we read the warning signs, if we stay away from the cliffs and the jagged rocks. The Bible is filled with loving encouragement from our Father in heaven. Why? Because we are His children. He loves us and wants us to be free from the burden of sin.

He HAS warned us. In 66 books he has spelled things out. Now it is our responsibility. It is our choice. We can either heed God's warning signs or ignore them and lead a life of obedience. It's our choice. Whom will we serve today? God or ourselves?

"Choose today whom you will serve."

"14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:14-15

Watchful

The weekend before last, my chunk of the Hall family converged on Battle Creek, MI for our annual March Birthday Weekend Extravaganza! That sounds impressive, like some major city-wide festival, but it's really just a couple dozen people getting together and talking and eating . . . and watching grandchildren and grand nieces swarming all over the place.

It takes most of the day to get there. We leave our home shortly after breakfast and drive until it's time for supper. But despite the trip there and back, the journey is always well worth the time spent in the car. That's because at the end of our travels we get to see people we love and that makes journey more than worth it.

There are dangers on the roadways though, especially driving through Chicago as we do. Lots and lots of cars, many of them driving WELL beyond the speed limit. One has to be ever watchful. Side mirrors, rear view mirrors. Always watchful, always protecting.

While we were in Michigan I noticed something about our grandson. He is on a mission. A mission to get his hands on as many things as he possibly can! He literally runs around the room, eyes darting back and forth, looking for things to play with or to destroy. Somebody's phone, a wireless mouse for great grandma's computer, a dog . . . MY laptop!

I'd sit in the family room, writing a story, while my phone sat on the arm of the chair - an open invitation for my grandson. As soon as he noticed it sitting there, seemingly unprotected, he would start coming towards it, full speed ahead. His sudden motion usually caught my eye and I would pick up the phone at the last minute, simultaneously denying my grandson the pleasure of a new toy and denying myself the cost of a new phone. My grandson just likes to explore is all. He likes to seek. But I always have my eye on him because I know that sometimes he can get himself into trouble . . . without even knowing it.

My son took HIS son outside for some father/son playtime and some fresh air. My son let HIS son explore and seek things on his own. He slid down snow banks, ate some snow, but always with his father's supervision. "You don't want to eat the YELLOW snow" is a helpful tip for an inexperienced young snow eater.

For a young boy seeking to discover things, there are certain things he is not ready to find yet. The road at the end of the driveway for example. Our grandson is not capable of understanding that big cars drive on that road and they can be dangerous. The stream that runs through my parents backyard is another danger for little boy who don't know how to swim yet. Water can be a fascinating thing to play with but it is also dangerous. And my grandson's father was there all the time, watching, protecting.

God is like that but He will let us get into all kinds of trouble, lots of trouble, just so we will REALLY learn the lessons He wants us too.

Have you gone through a struggle lately? What did you learn from it? How many friends came along side you when you needed it? Did God reach out to you in some unexpected way? Life is filled with lessons, opportunities and challenges. How do we handle them? Do we throw up our arms and wonder, "Why is all this happening to me?" or do we pause and think, "God, what do you want me to learn in this?"

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

"For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity." - Proverbs 24:16

"Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." - 1 Corinthians 10:11
Here's a video of a talented guy, a guy who struggled mightily until God got his attention one day . . . and changed his life.

Christian Hosoi - I Am Second